Window shade



Oct. 20, 1942. E. F. PIDGEON `wIINDow SHADE Filed Jan. 22, 1942 Patented Oct. 20, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WINDOW SHADE Elmer F. Pidgeon, Spiceland, Ind.

Application January 22, 1942, Serial No. 427,801

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in window shades and more particularly to improvements in shades adapted for use in blackouts or which are intended and capable of being used for totally excluding passage of light rays through a window opening.

More particularly, it is an aim of the invention to provide an improvement on the window shade construction as disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 904,298, issued November 17, 1908, to adapt a window shade of this construction to use as a blackout shade.

A further and particular aim of the invention is to provide a flap which is normally disposed behind a folding shade of this construction andin which the folding shade can be rolled, when not in use, so that the entire shade will be in a compact roll and when in this condition will occupy only a very small area of a window opening so as not to materially reduce the passage of light rays therethrough.

Another aim of the invention is to provide a ap which will also function to protect the shade from dust and dirt when it is not in use and which is of particular importance in view of the fact that such shades are used infrequently.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a shade construction which may be made in any desired length or width and which can be mounted to overlap a window opening or which may be disposed therein and when disposed in the latter position can be sized so that the side edges thereof will hang flush against the jamb, due to the fact that no portion of the shade projects beyond the edges of the shade cloth or fabric.

Still another aim of the invention is to provide a window shade which can be constructed in one or more thicknesses of black cloth so as to render the shade completely opaque and which is still capable of being v raised and lowered readily, which wouldv not be possible, due to the thickness of the shade, if the shade were wound on a spring roller.

Other objects and advantages of the inventionwill hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, which illustrates preferred embodiments thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is an edge View in elevation showing the shade in an extended position,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view looking toward the back side of the shade and showing the upper part thereof in an extended position,

Figure 3 is a front elevational view showing the shade rolled and enclosed in its protective flap,

Figure 4 is an enlarged edge vieuT in elevation showing the shade enclosed in the protective Jflap, and

Figure 5 ,is a fragmentary vertical sectional View of a portion of a modified form of the shade.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, I0 designates generally a folding shade of substantially the same construction as the windowl shade disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent 904,298, and which includes a strip of black cloth or fabric II which is opaque or substantially opaque and which is provided at its bottom with a hem I2 and at its top with a hem I3, which hems are disposed transversely of the shade I0. Intermediate of its ends, the shade I0 is provided with a transversely disposed hem I4 and another transversely disposed hem I5 which is located above the hem I4 and spaced therefrom. Hems I4 and I5 are formed by strips of fabric I6 which are disposed on the outer side of the shade cloth II and which are stitched thereto as seen at I1. A shade bar IB is contained in each of the hems I2, I3, I4 and I5 and extends substantially to the side edges of the shade cloth II.

A supporting bracket I9 is adapted to be attached to the inner side or face of the top rail of a window frame, indicated at 20, for supporting a grooved pull cord roller and roller frame 2| on the frame 20 and above its opening 20'. The bracket I9 and the frame and roller 2I are fully disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,883,- 627, issued October 18, 1932, and a detailed description of these parts is therefore considered to be unnecessary. The frame and roller 2I is also attached to thev shade bar I8 which is disposed in the hem I3 and is disposed on the for- Ward side of said hem. A pull cord, designated generally 22, is suitably fastened at one end thereof to the hem I6 and extends upwardly therefrom through an eye-23 which projects outwardly from the hem I5. The cord 22 then ex- Y tends upwardly and outwardly over the roller which is mounted on the upper hem I3. The opposite end of the pull oord is passed inwardly and over the roller which is supported by the bracket I9 and said last mentioned end is clamped between the frame 2I, which is mounted on the hem I3, and the bar I8, which is disposed in said hem, or may be otherwise secured to the upper end of the Window shade I0. The pull cord 22 also includes an elongated loop which depends from the two rollers and which includes a portion 24 which depends from the roller which is mounted on the hem I3 and a portion 25 which depends from the roller which is supported by the bracket I9.

As seen in Figure l, the distance between hems I2 and I4 is substantially one-half the distance between the hems I4 and I5 and the hems I3 and I5. Consequently, by pulling downwardly on the cord portion 24, the first mentioned end of the cord 22 is drawn upwardly to raise the shade I from the hem I4, with the cord 22 sliding through the eye 23, until the hem I4 moves into engagement with the eye 23, after which the shade I will also be raised from the hem I5 until'the hems I4 and I5 are nested with. the hem I3, in which position loops of the shade fabric I I, between the hems I3 and I5 and the hems I4 and I5, will depend downwardly substantially the same distance that the portion 0f the shade I, between hems I2 and I4, will depend from the hem I4. With the shade thus folded, it will cover approximately one-fourth of the window opening so as to obstruct the passage of light rays therethrough. It will likewise be readily apparent that the shade I0 while folded, extended or partially extended, can be raised by pulling on the cord portion or lowered by paying out the cord portion 25. The grooved rollers supported in the 'frames are of the type, now well known, which can be utilized for clamping the pull cord by drawing the vcord out of alignment with the -center of the roller. In view of the disclosure in the aforementioned U. S. Letters Patent No. 904,298, a further description of the part of the shade I0, which has been previously described, is considered unnecessary.

A novel feature of the present invention resides in the provision of the flap 25 which is preferably formed by the upper end of the shade fabric I I and which depends from the hem I3 and is disposed behind the shade I0. The flap 26, could, if desired, obviously be formed of a separate piece of fabric stitched orotherwisesecured to the back part of the hem I3. The lower edge of the flap 25 is provided with a plurality of laterally spaced eyes 21, each of which is oblong, and said lower end or edge of the flap 25 is preferably provided With a hem 28 for reinforcing the portion thereof in which the eyes -2'I are formed. A plurality of laterally spaced 'turn buttons 29 are mounted on the hem I3 and project from the front side thereof. It will thus be readily app-arent that when the shade I 0 is in a raised, folded position that said shade can be Yrolled upwardly after which the ap 26 can be disposed therearound, as seen in Figures 3 and 4. The turn buttons 29 are located to be received by the leyes 2'I for fastening the turn buttons to the eyes, in a conventional manner, by a ninety degree turn of the turn buttons 29, and thereby connect the lower, free end of the flap 26 to the forward side of the hem I3. The flap 26 extends from side edge to side edge of the shade fabric II, as seen in Figures 2 and 3, so that the Shade I0 will be enclosed therewithin except for the edges thereof which will be disposed in the open ends of the roll formed by the flap 25. When the shade I 0 is thus rolled, as seen in Figures 3 and 4, it will be readily apparent that it will cover a portion of the window opening 20 substantially less than the amount 0f the window opening which is covered by the folded shade I0. Consequently, the flap 26 will not only protect the shade from dust and dirt while not in use, but will also hold the shade in a compact rolled condition to reduce materially the extent that it will obscure the passage of light rays through the window opening with which it is associated.

Obviously, other forms of separable fasteners could be substituted for the separable fasteners formed by the parts 21 and 2S, such as conventional separable snap fasteners.

In the drawing, the shade I0 is sho-wn mounted on the inner side or face of the window frame 25 and it will be readily apparent that it can overlap the jambs, top rail and sill thereof to any extent and, obviously, the more the shade overlaps the frame the more effectively it will obscure and prevent the passage of light rays through the window opening. The shade may obviously also be mounted directly within the window opening and as it is provided with no portions which project beyond the side edges of the shade fabric II, it will be apparent that said edges may engage ush against the jambs of the window frame to seal the window opening against the passage of light rays. The shade cloth, in order to be even substantially opaque must be relatively thick, and the thickness of the material makes it impractical for use with conventional spring wound window shade rollers so that a folding shade of the type herein shown is far more practical. As flexible fabrics cannet be made entirely opaque, in order to provide a shade which will prevent the passage of all light rays, the shade cloth must be of at least two thicknesses or plies, as illustrated in the modified form as shown in Figure 5 and which includes the plies II which are stitched together as seen at Il to form the hem I4', and similarly to form the hem I5', not shown. When the shade It is thus constructed of two plies of cloth, it will function in the same manner as the shade IEB, and the flap 2S thereof is preferably formed of only a single ply although it may be of two plies, if desired. Where two plies are thus employed, fabric having a nap side can be used by positioning the two plies with the nap sides toward one another. If desired, the hem I4 can also be formed similar to the hems I4 and |15 by attaching a strip of fabric I6 to the outer side of the outer ply I I.

Various modications and changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts shown and described, are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, provided they fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as yhereinafter deiined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A window shade comprising a strip of fabric having longitudinally spaced transversely disposed hems each containing a shade bar, one of said hems being disposed at each end of the shade, a shade cord pulley atached to the shade bar and hem, forming the upper end of the shade and disposed on the outer side thereof, a pull cord attached at one end to the next to the bottom bar and slidably connected to the bars disposed between the bottom bar and said upper bar, said cord being trained over said pulley, a cord pulley adapted to be attached to a window frame above the shade, said pull cord, adjacent to its opposite end, being trained over the last mentioned pulley, and having said opposite end anchored to the upper end of the shade, so that the shade can be raised and lowered bodily by a pull on one portion of the cord and so that the lower portion of the shade can be raised relatively to the upper end thereof and arranged in a plurality of folds, by a pull on the other portion of the cord, and said fabric strip having an end depending from the upper hem and disposed behind the shade and forming a flap in which the shade can be rolled and substantially enclosed, when in a folded position.

2. In combination with a window shade of the type having means whereby the shade can be raised or lowered in its entirety and its lower end raised or lowered in folds relatively to its upper end; a fabric flap disposed behind the shade and attached at its upper edge to the upper end of the shade, said flap being adapted to be looped around the shade, when the shade is fold- 3. An article as in claim 2,` and fastening means carried by the lower edge of the flap and the upper end of the shade for` connecting the lower edge of the flap to the top of the shade to form a loop of the flap in which the shade is contained.

4. An article as in claim 2, and fastening means carried by the lower edge of the flap and the upper end of the shade for connecting the lower edge of the flap to the top of the shade to form a loop of the flap in which the shade is contained, said fastening means being attached to the outer side of the upper end of the shade.

5. An article as in claim 2, said ap forming an end of the strip of fabric forming the shade.

ELMER F. PIDGEON. 

